Effie was certain that she was up on time when Miss Murphey came to get her the next morning. She walked Effie down to the dining room and watched over her as she ate.
Effie felt uncomfortable about Miss Murphey watching her eat, but she wasn't about to tell her that. Who knows what kind of punishment she could get for being disrespectful.
After Effie finished eating, she was taken outside and given a trowel. She was told to plant all the flowers around her and not come inside until she was done.
Once Miss Murphey was done, Effie sighed and looked down at herself. She was still wearing the same dress she came in. Except now it was dirty and ripped in places.
Effie wished she could change and be more comfortable, but she knew that there wasn't a chance at getting another set of clothes. She noticed when she looked around at the other girls that all of their clothing was old, ripped, and dirty.
Effie sighed again and began to count how many flowers she had to plant.
130...
Effie shook her head at the number. It was going to take her forever to plant all of these. She's planted flowers before, but that was a while ago. Her mother taught her how, but they haven't had the chance to plant anymore since their garden was full.
Effie knelt down and began to dig a small hole. Once she thought it was deep enough, she took the plant and placed it in the hole. She then took the dirt she dug up and packed it around the plant to secure it in place. Once she was done, she sat back to examine her work. It was a pitiful looking plant with small brown leaves and drooping pink petals at the top. The pink color was beginning to fade and it looked like it was on its last life.
Effie began to think of this flower as her life right now. True, she's only been in the asylum for a day or two, but she still was miserable. Her hope was still inside of her; more so when Miss Arkwright promised to protect her as much as she could. But she could see her hope begin to fail and just like the flowers color, her color will also begin to fade.
Effie shook her head and began to dig another hole right beside the flower. She repeated the same process and noticed that all the flowers looked the same. The only thing different were their colors. They were all different colors that flowers can come in, but they were all fading.
Effie felt a tear fall down her cheek before quickly wiping it away. She wanted to leave this place. She hated it here. She wanted to go back home where her parents were. Where her room was. Where her comfort was. Where her heart was. But she had a feeling that that was not going to become a reality anytime soon.
Effie, about halfway through the plants, looked up at the sky and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. The sun was already at its highest point in the sky. She felt a presence behind her and turned around to see Linsey standing behind her with Patricia beside her.
Both of their expressions showed one of sympathy. Effie automatically felt enraged by Patricia's sympathetic look.
Why is she showing me such sympathy? Effie thought to herself. It's her fault that I'm here anyway!
Effie turned her head away and continued to work. She tried to ignore the growing presence behind her, but eventually couldn't contain it.
"What do you want?" she snapped at them without looking.
"We wanted to see how you're doing," Patricia said in a small voice.
Effie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You can see how well I'm doing. Don't act like you don't know."
"Effie-" Patricia started.
Effie stood up suddenly and turned around to face her. "Don't start, Patricia. You knew exactly what I was getting into and you knew what you were doing! You said that you would stop at nothing to get me here and you accomplished your goal. Don't try to play the sympathized role! You can't fool me! Now, go!" Effie stared at Patricia's shocked face before turning back to the garden. She knelt back down and continued to dig.
Eventually, Effie couldn't feel either one of their presence behind her. She sighed and shook her head.
I know that I might have sounded rude and hateful, but I don't care anymore. Effie finally let her tears flow down and let them hit the dirt underneath her. I want to go home.
YOU ARE READING
Effie
Paranormal*The prequel to The Girl in the Window* This is the story about Effie Richmond. Effie's family has always believed that she was different. After she and her family were in a car wreck, strange things began to happen to her. She had developed a stran...
